So you may know that I was contestant on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. Yes, the last time I wrote I had just passed the test. Well fast forward two weeks later: I received a call to see if I was ready to play and I eagerly said yes! I shot my episode Thursday, August 16th, and while I am not legally able to tell you anything in regards to my turn playing, I can tell you everything leading up to the hot seat… So for all you inquiring minds, here you are:I was psyched for Millionaire. First of all, I love trivia. Secondly, I am a tad bit competitive. Shocking, I know. And C, I am a geek about Meredith Viera. I’ve liked her since The View, I watch her every morning on The Today Show and I think she is one of the smartest, "with it" women out there right now. It was going to be exciting to be on the show with her. So I started buffing up on my trivia. I limited my reading material for the week to Trivial Pursuit cards while on my couch, the train and any other public place. And I will admit to reading Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader entitled Big Book of Facts, during more private moments. I was trying to absorb as much trivia as possible! Greg told me about Cash Cab on the Discovery network, so I started watching that, which led right into Jeopardy at 7:00. I was a fact-absorbing machine. I was only going to get this chance once, so I needed to be prepared. In the meantime, Millionaire was sending me questionnaires to fill out about myself, a total of eight pages, which were going to be potential “interesting” tidbits about me for Meredith to inquire about. I had a little too much fun filling those out and I hope the producers don’t think I’m crazy. But even if they did think that, they wouldn’t be far from the truth. I was crazy about being on the show!
So the big day arrives. I didn’t sleep the best the night before. I kept having dreams that I was really confident about an answer and then I’d walk away with nothing. I was hoping that didn’t happen. I had to be at the studio at 7:00 am, hair and make-up ready. That is all I knew. So I was up at 5:00 am, at the studio by 6:45. I had planned on text messaging my phone-a-friends throughout the day to keep them abreast of what was going on – like if I’d be going up soon, if it looked like I would actually shoot, etc. But I quickly learned on arrival that we were about to go into CONTESTANT ISOLATION.
Contestant Isolation: This meant there would be absolutely no contact with the outside world. If I absolutely had to make a phone call, one of the producers would do it for me. Beyond that, we were to label our bags, unpack our wardrobe choices, label them with premade name tags, put anything small/important in an assigned locker and then leave the room. Everything in that room was locked away and we could only gain access again with the accompaniment of a producer. Same thing with going to the bathroom – there always had to be a producer with us, at all times. I had brought my Trivial Pursuit cards and two newspapers but I was told I could not have any of that. In fact they discouraged us from “talking trivia” with each other, since it might make an uncomfortable environment or bring down morale if any one of us knew more than the others or if people started getting competitive. So it was a little like kindergarten, but they make the rules so I can win the money, so there wasn’t much I could do.
There were eight other contestants and there were also “two and half” from the day before. Millionaire shoots five shows per shooting day, so they tend to overbook contestants, since they don’t know how many will actually get to play. So the two and half were scheduled to shoot the day before and the “half” started his game when they ran out of time the day prior. “The day before people” were separated from us newbies and we only briefly met them at lunch, before shooting began. I’m getting ahead of myself. Back to my contestant group: The nine of us got along right away and we definitely made it a fun environment despite all the crazy rules. My fellow contestants were Elyssa, Patrick, Bob, Thom, Jennifer, Julia, David and Ross. So when our five episodes start airing, cheer them on!! We were an energetic, nervous group and it is true how a high stress situation brings people together. Even if the stress is a fun, kinetic kind. We had breakfast and then we were all taken away individually to meet with our producers. Each of us are assigned a producer to prep us for our time on camera and to go over the questionnaires we filled out and to basically “handle” us once we play. So I had Stephanie and she was lovely and helpful. Then we were all brought back into the green room for our legal briefings. First we had a long sit down with the show attorney to go over the forms that we had read on our own and signed. She had to reiterate everything that was within these pages so that we were totally aware of what we signed. That lasted about an hour and we all started to get nervous. And then Meredith’s producer came in to welcome us and go over game play. He talked about what to expect once we get in the chair, game strategy, etc. And to make sure that we were nervous, which we were – yes they wanted us to be nervous. And that lasted about an hour. And then the show’s publicist came in to go over all the publicity that will go into our appearance and what to expect and find out about our local newspapers so they can promote our appearance on the show. So it was a long morning of legal stuff and nerves climbing. Then we were taken down to the studio so we could all practice sitting in the chair, which was more complicated than you would think, and then we were sent to lunch at 10:30 am.
Lunch was Mexican food, which is a favorite of mine, but not on a nervous stomach and not at that early in the morning. So I hardly ate anything and everyone regretted later any of what we did eat. And then it was back to the green room to get into our wardrobe, get touch-ups on hair and makeup and basically gear up to shoot. They showed us a video of one of their favorite contestants so that we could get ideas about how to conduct ourselves on the show (excited, playful, etc) and then…after legalese and butterflies in our stomachs and contestant bonding….the games began!
We had a live feed into our green room to watch the games and as soon as that started we all got nervous. I started breathing deeply and then asked everyone if they wanted to engage in a yoga move, “sun salutation,” to calm ourselves down. Instead of everyone laughing at me, they actually all got up and joined in - all except Bob and Patrick, who I think found us humorous/crazy. But it helped and we were ready to watch! Now, here is an important fact to note that I have failed to mention: We were not told the order in which we were going to shoot. We were kept in the green room and then one by one we were taken downstairs, back stage. BUT! There were three contestants on deck, at all times, and just because you were just brought down did not mean that you were third in line to go. No, no, no. If you were just brought down, you could be next to go. Or you could be brought down and then not go until 4 shows later…which is what happened to me. I was the third from our group to be brought downstairs. So I’m hyped up and nervous. The three of us on deck are sitting there, watching on a tiny black-and-white monitor the game that is being played. We can’t hear anything because there is no sound on this tiny monitor and so we can only sit there, play along and hope the best for our fellow contestants. And one by one, people were playing. And then three shows were already shot and I was still waiting and it was time for our first break. They do the taping day in two parts, three shows from noon until about 2:30 and then two shows from around 3:30 to 5:00, with a new audience. To keep things fresh. So we were corralled upstairs again and fed again, but I was still too nervous to eat.
My emotions are running high, I’m starting to get really tired and then they take us back downstairs. They’re playing some good music in the studio, so I’m dancing and singing to keep my energy up. Then shooting begins again and we are taken to our little waiting area backstage. Again, one by one, contestants are going into the chair, more people are being brought downstairs to keep the “three contestants on deck” quota and I am resigning myself to the idea that I’m not going to shoot today. I am feeling good though because I know the answers to a lot of the questions that are being asked throughout the day. And every time a question comes up and I know the answer before the choices are revealed, I am always right. I have a lot of gut feelings going on and I’ve decided to trust my instincts once I get out there. But, they are well into taping the last show of the day and it is nearing 5:00 and I’m thinking I’m going to have to come back to shoot on another day. And then, Bob’s game play looks like it is coming to an end and all the producers that are in the back with us are standing, getting ready to call the next contestant’s name. I am relaxed, nonchalant, “cool,” and then suddenly they say:
And our next contestant is going to be…MEAGAN!
Suddenly, I’m not relaxed at all! I’m excited, I’m breathing heavily, I’m geared up and I’m ready to go. Then, I get the cue to go out onstage and…I run out!! I’m so excited, I think I may be screaming, I don't know but I do know I gave Meredith a hug and then…I climbed into the hot seat. And the rest is a blur. Besides, I’m not able to tell you anything beyond that point, anyway. But, I will tell you this:
I will tell you when to tune in!!
Which might not be until January, but it will definitely be worth watching…hopefully it will be surprising and fun!
Until then…
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